


Drifting

by sowidsnake



Category: Metal Gear
Genre: Angst, Character Death, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Love Confessions, M/M, Mission Fic, Oneshot, nobody dies because of suicide in this fic don't worry, not cannon i'm just writing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-06
Updated: 2019-09-06
Packaged: 2020-10-10 23:47:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20536643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sowidsnake/pseuds/sowidsnake
Summary: “I love you, like, love you love you, more than anything in the whole world, and watching this happen before I got to tell you properly is tearing me apart inside.”He stayed quiet, before nodding. “I love you too.”“Love me love me?”“Love you love you.”





	Drifting

**Author's Note:**

> okay WOW it's been so long since i wrote something so if this is bad lmk haha... i've been having a rough few months so it's all vented into this short oneshot. in fact, i intended this oneshot to be like 1500 words LONGER but whatever. 
> 
> also, trigger warning (in case you missed the tags) there's character death and then implied suicide at the end. i cried while writing this but idk if you will. 
> 
> leave a kudos if you enjoy my work! it motivates me to write more because we ALL know i have horrible motivation. love you guys!!

Snake pressed against the cold concrete wall, waiting for the call from Otacon. He was trying to hack into the lock system so Snake could get into the next room where they were holding yet another dangerous, world-destroying tank. Just like any other day on the job. “Okay Snake,” Otacon had finally called. “The door should open right up for you.” Snake thanked him. “It’s no problem, it was sort of a difficult system but I manage.” 

He entered the large room of the warehouse, and the tank loomed over him. It was almost dizzying. He stalked around the side very carefully, watching for a guard or security camera, but there was nothing. Nobody. Snake planted a bomb on each side of the tank, and made sure he snapped a few clear pictures for Otacon. “Great job Snake, now let’s head out. I’ve got the boat pulled up to the west exit-”

“Freeze!!” Snake was surrounded by at least 10 guards He knew he should’ve been suspicious of the strange emptiness of the warehouse. He cursed under his breath and held his gun tightly. “Otacon, we have an issue.” Snake said, preparing himself for a fight. “Do not engage in combat and you won’t get hurt,” A guard spat. Snake didn’t listen, he refused to be taken prisoner. He began to shoot, but a guard to the side knocked his gun out of his hand. With his knife, he slashed at the guards, killing a few of them with quick stabs. They tried to apprehend him, but he dodge-rolled out of his grip. 

“Snake! You have to get out of there!” Otacon yelled through the Codec, an insane amount of panic in his voice. “When those bombs go off, the entire lot will be wiped clean! You’ll be killed in the explosion!” A guard shot Snake in the leg as he tried to reach for his gun. He wailed in pain. “Otacon,” He said through gritted teeth, “I always get out alive.” The bombs were counting down from sixty now.

Otacon screamed into the codec on the boat. His partner was in there, about to be blown to smithereens. Snake grunted into the codec. “Otacon, get the boat out of there, go!” Otacon knew he’d be caught in the blast if he tried to save Snake. He heard more gunshots. “GO!” Snake yelled, begging Otacon to save himself. Otacon began to sob. “I can’t lose you too!” 

“Otacon! I always make it out alive, now go!”

He listened this time, pulling the boat away from the shore, crying and sniffling. When he got a good distance away, he looked back. He watched as the warehouse went up in a huge cloud of smoke and orange fire. Otacon hugged his knees and cried. He tried the codec. “Snake?” He watched the fiery rubble for a few hours, sometimes trying the codec to get an impossible response from Snake. Nothing.

When the fire and smoke subsided, Otacon started the boat and contemplated whether he should go find Snake, hopefully alive, but he felt his stomach flip when he thought of the possibility of finding the soldier’s seared and mutilated dead body. He fought with his mind. Although he didn’t want to see, let alone handle his partner’s dead body, Snake deserved a proper burial. Otacon pulled the boat to shore once again.

The strong smell of gunpowder assaulted Otacon’s nose. He ignored how sick the fumes made him feel. He stepped off the boat, saying Snake’s name, praying he may get a response from a healthy Snake. Nothing. He took out one of Snake’s pocket knives he had kept, and took a stance that the soldier had taught him. His body lowered, his arms out in front of him in an X, and his feet taking side steps over each other. Although everyone died in the blast, which Otacon knew, because he was stepping over bodies every other step, he was still afraid he’d be assaulted.

He called out to Snake again into the emptiness of the rubble. He heard a groan nearby. Snake. Otacon scanned the area, trying to find the injured soldier. He was struggling to get a huge piece of rubble off of his legs, which were likely crushed. Otacon could see that he was weak, and that he couldn’t get it off alone. He dropped his knife and ran to help Snake, relieved that he was at least alive and in tact. Snake called out to Otacon, tears in his eyes. “You came back?” His voice was rough and weary. Otacon kneeled and tried to lift the rubble. “Of course- uurrg- I did. You’re my- uufff- you’re my partner.” 

Snake smiled softly. “Hal,” Otacon looked away from him when he said his name. It made him sick. “Hal, look at me.” He wouldn’t. He couldn’t look Snake in the eyes after this. His face was seared and covered in blood. Looking at it made Otacon’s heart ache and his head hurt. “Please, just look at me for a minute, please Hal.” Otacon finally hesitantly looked at Snake, and his head spun. Snake lifted his hand. It had a finger missing, but the wound was completely cauterized. He put the ashy, blackened hand on Otacon’s cheek. “I need you to do me a favor.” 

Otacon knew where this was going. “No Snake, you’re not dying on me. You don’t die. You always come out alive, right?” Snake gave him a sad smile. “... right?” Otacon’s eyes fogged as they were filled with salty tears. “Please Hal, call me David.” He pulled away from Snake’s hand. “Just call me David, okay? Please?” Otacon ripped his eyes from him and let tears roll down his cheeks. He couldn’t look at him. It was too much, his head was splitting open. He couldn’t look. He wouldn’t. He felt Snake’s smile drift into a gritted frown. He wasn’t going to look.

“You’re going to die, aren’t you David?” He didn’t answer. But Otacon knew. He knew he hadn’t done enough to save him, he knew all the moments he didn’t savor were drifting, he knew that his partner was drifting. Otacon wiped the tears away from his eyes. “David, please don’t leave me here alone,” He whimpered silently, grabbing at the sleeves of his coat. “I can’t do it without you.” Snake sighed, and Otacon looked at him again, the eye contact making both of their heads split. 

“I know you can, you can continue with philanthropy, you can-” 

“No Snake, you don’t understand. I don’t care about philanthropy, or saving the world anymore. I can’t make it through life without you there. I just can’t.”

“I’m sure you can-”

“No David, I can’t. I didn’t have anything before you. And I’m not going to have anything after you either.”

They sat in silence. Otacon knew he should’ve said something. But he didn’t. Snake smiled wearily. “It’s okay Hal, I understand.” He patted Otacon’s knee, leaving a black, smeared handprint with only four fingers. “I know how you feel.” Otacon’s heart was beating in his throat, the fear and pressure from the situation making his palms sweaty and his stomach turn and flip into knots. He knew this was the last time he’d ever see his partner again. “Snake, er, David, I’ve been meaning to tell you something for quite some time now.” He pulled his hand carefully back on his knee and put his hand over it. 

“I love you David, like, love you love you, more than anything in the whole world, and watching this happen before I got to tell you properly is tearing me apart inside.”

Snake paused. He stayed quiet, before nodding. “I love you too Hal.”

“Love me love me?”

“Love you love you.”

They sat quietly again for awhile.

“I’ll see you again.”

Hal closed his eyes and savored his soothing voice.

“I’ll see you again, wherever we go when we die, I’ll see you there.”

Nothing else was said as they laced their fingers together. Otacon held it firmly and said a soft goodbye to Snake, his sweet David. David’s hand was no longer holding his hand back anymore. Hal knew that he was gone. He picked up his knife, stood up, zipped his coat, and started to walk back to the boat.

He wondered where he put that rope.


End file.
